Latest News

As of 1st September 2017, the management of National Leaders of Governance was devolved to the Teaching Schools Council, South West. NLGs now operate through four sub regional NLG Advocates who work alongside Regional Teaching School Links (RTSLs) as brokers of support for governance, with the added brief of raising the profile of the work of…

We are delighted to congratulate this year’s cohort of NQTs for completing their 6 day training programme with us. The programme started back in September 2017, and has covered a huge range of topics, including: What makes an outstanding teacher? Engaging English and Marvellous Maths Creating positive learning environments Creative computing and supporting scientific discovery…

The Joining The Dots conference is taking place on Friday 15th June 2018 at UWE Conference Centre in Bristol. This promises to be a great day of learning, with workshops taking place all day. Morning workshops include ‘Designing a knowledge based curriculum’ and ‘Life after P Scales’, whilst the afternoon will offer the opportunity to…

Trowbridge Town Council are asking the public to nominate individuals, groups, schools, clubs, organisations or businesses for awards that will be presented at this year’s Town Gathering. The awards are a celebration of the local community from the previous year and the work they have achieved. The awards are all open to individuals, as well as groups…

Our colleagues at the Cabot Learning Federation are holding an event tomorrow evening, Tuesday 17th April 2018, for graduates interested in becoming a teacher in the Bristol or surrounding area. This free event will be a brilliant opportunity to get all your questions answered by a range of teacher training providers, and you will also have…

We were very pleased to join Headteachers and SENCOs from across our alliance yesterday, Wednesday 21st March 2018, for our annual conference. We came together at Wick Farm to spend the day considering SEND provision for children across Trowbridge and the surrounding areas, and how this can be developed to support them even further in…

In January 2017, we were successful in becoming one of a handful of schools across the country to receive funding from the National College for research into effectively and efficiently reducing teacher workload whilst maintaining or improving standards. The project was called Workload Challenge Research and built on the work done by review groups, by funding school-led…

We still have places available for General Primary and Early Years initial teacher training starting in September 2018. If you are thinking about applying now for a post in September, or are just interested in finding out more about what we offer for future consideration, you’re very welcome to come along to one of our…

The Mead Academy Trust is holding an open evening on 1st February 2018 for teachers and TAs. This is an opportunity for teachers and TAs who are interested in working for the Trust to come along and meet the leadership team, teachers and pupils, ask questions, and take a tour of The Mead school. Whether you…

Our 2017-18 cohort of Graduate Teachers began their main placement on Thursday 4th January. All of our students must complete a placement in two different schools and two different key stages, and we try to give a school and key stage swap between Placement 1 and the main placement. They are all at schools across…

The Mead Teaching School was proud to host almost 170 delegates at the Civic Centre in Trowbridge yesterday (Thursday 4th January 2018), for a full day focused on Talk For Writing. Pie Corbett hosted the day, and we can’t thank him enough for being such a brilliant speaker. We were very pleased to be able to…

We are holding a series of open mornings for anyone interested in becoming a TA. These informal sessions are aimed at anyone who would like to find out more about a career as a TA, and will be held on: Thursday 18th January 2018 at Castle Mead School from 9.00 – 10.00am Thursday 24th January…

Our Specialist Leaders of Education (SLEs) are outstanding middle or senior leaders, or leaders of learning, who are interested in and have the capacity to support colleagues in other schools. We are seeking to recruit more SLEs in order to support current priorities and future developments for The Mead Teaching School alliance. We are hoping…

If you would like to find out more about becoming a primary school teacher, why not come along to one of our open days? You can find out more about the School Direct route into teaching, hear from some recent graduates about what life is like as a student teacher, and find out more about…

Our Graduate Teachers had their second specialist music lesson with our fabulous music teacher, Mrs Dixon, this morning. They are already putting the theory they learned in their first lesson into practice, and today delighted our Executive Headteacher and Head of Teaching School with an impromptu concert on our set of steel pan drums. The…

We’re delighted to have now had our ITT places for 2017-18 confirmed by the NCTL, and to have had confirmation that UCAS applications for next year will open on 26th October 2017. If you’re considering applying for an Initial Teacher Training post for 2018-19, here are some things you need to know: Funding: Click here for all…

Our school year kicked off on Friday 1st September, with a TD Day for all of our staff. Our Early Years and KS1 TAs and teachers attended their second day of Read Write Inc training whilst our KS2 teams had a busy day of planning in their year groups. As all of that was going…

We’re hugely excited to be welcoming Pie Corbett, the creator of Talk For Writing, to The Mead in January 2018. Pie will run a one day conference at the school, focusing on practical strategies for developing children as storytellers and writers. Pie will look at how to help children learn a bank of stories through story mapping, using actions and…

If you have an NQT joining you in September 2017, you will need to offer them some CPD and development throughout the year. The Mead’s NQT programme for 2017-18 is now available to book and spaces are going fast! The programme is a series of 6 days that cover a wide range of subjects, providing a…

Last week we celebrated our 2016-17 cohort of Graduate Teachers passing their teacher training. Over tea and cake, we reminisced and reflected on the last 10 months – the highs, the lows, the laughs and the tears! All of our Graduate Teachers have now been recommended for QTS, and are looking forward to taking up…

Our Strategic Leadership Team attended the inaugural Bryanston Education Summit on Wednesday 7th June, and were thoroughly impressed by the day. There was a wide range of speakers, covering a variety of topics on the theme of ‘Delivering a world class education in turbulent times’. Our team loved the opportunity to select the workshops on…

Lindsay and Nicola recently wrote a case study for the Teaching Schools Council’s library of case studies on Evidence Based Teaching, and advancing capability and capacity for enquiry in schools. The key focus of our enquiry was to explore strategies for further increasing capacity for Specialist Leaders in Education, and the leadership of research across…

Our Graduate Teachers receive a range of taught input sessions from teachers within The Mead Academy Trust and beyond throughout their year of Initial Teacher Training. Today they spent the morning with Mrs Perry and Mr Smith, learning how to teach engaging and exciting PE lessons to children across Key Stages 1 and 2.

A little while ago, the National College for Teaching and Learning visited The Mead Teaching School and met with Lindsay Palmer and Nicky Theobald to talk about how to put research at the heart of your school. The output of this fascinating day is now featured on the homepage of the NCTL blog. We hope…

Our Maths Counts coordinator, Dr Sarah Couzens, visited one of our Maths Counts partner schools last week and was thrilled to see how they have implemented the programme within their learning environment. Wallscourt Farm Academy in Bristol have created lovely atmosphere for their Maths Counts learning partners and children, and are making great use of…

The Mead Teaching School is hosting an open morning for anyone interested in finding out more about our School Direct teacher training programme. Whether you’ve decided to apply in September 2017 or beyond, or are just interested in a chat to see what it’s all about and help you consider whether it’s the right choice…

We were delighted to host nearly 50 delegates on Friday at our Leadership for Impact conference with Andy Buck, leader of #honk and Managing Director of Leadership Matters. Heads of School and Deputy Headteachers from across Trowbridge and beyond came together for an inspirational day of self-reflection and learning at Trowbridge Rugby Club. Andy asked…

We are thrilled that the latest edition of Professional Development Today features an article with Lindsay Palmer, Head of The Mead Teaching School and our close colleague Nicola Theobald. Lindsay and Nicola sat down with PDT to talk about how to make school-based research a foundation for professional learning. The extensive ‘how to’ section covers…

Two of our current Graduate Teachers, Ruth and Sarah, recently attended the Boolean Math Conference in Bristol. Alongside our Mrs Armstrong, our Deputy Headteacher at River Mead School, they spent the day focusing on collaboration and hearing from a range of contributors covering topics as diverse as Teaching for Mastery and SEND Coordination. They both…

As well as now cycling to work every day, Mr Matt Torrington – one of our teachers at River Mead School – has started the new year with a series of Teaching and Learning breakfast meetings. This week, the series kicked off with a discussion on how ‘Pose, Pause, Pounce and Bounce’ can be used…

The Mead Teaching School will be at the Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel on 23rd February 2017 for the Train To Teach roadshow. Come along to meet Lindsay Palmer, our Head of Teaching School and Amanda Taylor, Director of the West Wilts Alliance. Both will be able to talk to you about primary and secondary Initial…

We were delighted to come back after the Christmas break to a letter from Justine Greening, the Secretary of State for Education, recognising the outstanding efforts made by Mrs Sheila Claridge during her distinguished career in teaching. Mrs Greening acknowledged in her letter Mrs Claridge’s dedication to the important role of teaching, and recognised her commitment to…

As the term – and year – comes to an end, we wanted to reflect on the beautiful learning environments our children and teachers created this term… Our children have loved these environments, and the sneak peek we’ve had of the environments for Term 3 tell us that next term’s classrooms and hallways will…

Wicked Weather Watch just shared their last newsletter of 2016 with us, and what a read! Since the last edition competition winners have been announced, the Polar Ocean Challenge was welcomed home and the team have been working incredibly hard to support schools in engaging with the crew from Northabout to learn about climate change.…

Our pupils have travelled the world today, visiting the Taj Mahal, diving the Great Barrier Reef, and walking the Great Wall of China – all from the comfort of their own classrooms. We welcomed Google Expeditions to The Mead, a fantastic new immersive learning experienced which allows a teacher acting as a “guide” to lead classroom-sized…

David Hempleman-Adams, the world famous polar explorer, dropped in to The Mead Primary School last week to meet 240 children from schools in Trowbridge and Melksham, and talk to them about his recent Polar Ocean Challenge. The children from The Mead, Castle Mead, River Mead, The Grove and Holt had worked really hard on making…

Our current cohort of Graduate Teachers are now deep into their first assessed phase, and are continuing to balance their classroom time with taught input. Today, those Graduate Teachers who have opted into our enhanced music module are in their second dedicated workshop, presenting back to the group on their learning so far and beginning…

On June 19th 2016, the Polar Ocean Challenge, led by David Hempleman-Adams, set off from Bristol in a boat called Northabout to circumnavigate the North Pole anticlockwise. David and the crew wanted to demonstrate that the Arctic sea ice coverage now shrinks back so far in the summer months that sea which was permanently locked up…

We have just released our online booking form, to make it quicker and easier for you to book the places you want on our courses and conferences. The form lets you book up to 2 people on a course at a time, and gives you the option to pay via cheque or bank transfer. You…

We were delighted last year to be awarded a grant by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) to develop, trial and implement a maths intervention for learners most at risk of not meeting age related expectations. This wide-ranging programme, called Maths Counts, aims to bring together years of experience in one-to-one intensive maths support. It’s supported and resourced by a unique digital tool…

Are you thinking about a career in teaching, but are not quite ready for 2017-18? Or, are you considering teaching as an option but need to know more before making a final decision? We haven’t opened applications for 2017-18 yet, but are already thinking about 2018-19 and beyond! We’re going to be at the Bristol and Cardiff Teach…

We’re delighted to have now had our ITT places for 2017-18 confirmed by the NCTL, and to have had confirmation that UCAS applications for next year will open on 18th October 2016. If you’re considering applying for an Initial Teacher Training post for 2017-18, here are some things you need to know: Funding: The funding…

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. We store no personal details as a result of your visit. Please confirm you are happy to continue visiting our website, using the 'I Accept' button. I AcceptRead our Cookie Policy